Edwards Offers his Own 'Double-Speak' updated
The above video has been changed. Team Edwards selectively edits to their liking.
If you want to know why I'm adamantly against negative personal attacks on our own, Edwards is exhibit A today.
Did you see Edwards on “This Week” yesterday? When it came to illegal immigration his answers were, dare
I use his own terminology to describe it and call it 'double-speak'? If the
corn cob hat fits.
Illegal immigration is the dog whistle issue ready to roll for the '08 general
election. It's an issue that is annoying when you hear politicians talk about
it. They either don't understand the urgency some of us feel about it or don't
get the domestic security issue rolled up in it or think it's simple when it's not. John Edwards was asked about
it yesterday on “This Week,” but he had a lot of trouble distinguishing
himself or even making it understandable, especially since he changed his position
while slapping Spitzer for good measure. The other problem for Edwards is that
he's 180 degrees
from where he was in '04, but doesn't explain the reasoning very well.
The former North Carolina senator, who unequivocally supported issuing driver's
licenses to illegals when he was running for vice president in 2004, said
that it should be up to the states to decide whether to issue licenses to
illegals. However, once a national comprehensive immigration reform plan is
passed into law, any illegal who gets on the path to citizenship should be
permitted to obtain a license, he said.
Interesting that Edwards said he's for states to issue drivers licenses until
the feds get their act together, but he is against Spitzer's plan. Obviously Edwards doesn't understand the
national security aspect of this issue, which is what Spitzer was trying to tackle.
Richard A. Clarke, the former counterterrorism adviser to three presidents,
on Friday endorsed Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to make it easier for illegal
immigrants to get driver's licenses.“States should act to register immigrants, legal and illegal, who use
our roadways as New York is doing,” Clarke said in a statement to be
delivered in a morning news conference with Spitzer in New York City.“From a law enforcement and security perspective, it is far preferable
for the state to know who is living in it and driving on its roads, and to
have their photograph and their address on file than to have large numbers
of people living in our cities whose identity is totally unknown to the government,”
said Clarke, who advised presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George
W. Bush. … ..
Clarke, a former Bill Clinton man, supports Obama, by the way. He is also one of the most astute experts on counterterrorism.
Edwards went on:
Asked about his switch since 2004, Edwards said he had been primarily concerned
about the dangers of people driving who hadn't had any training. But
he said, now, that concern fits into the bigger picture of establishing a
rule of law in the United States that allows illegals to get driver's licenses
once they get on the path to earning citizenship. … ..
So let me get this straight. Edwards was for drivers licenses for illegal immigrants
in 2004, but isn't today. He believes it's up to states, but he's against Sptizer's
plan. But he is worried about people driving around without training now, which
now fits into “the bigger picture of establishing a rule of law in the…”
.. ..
What's Edwards' plan for illegal immigration? Yesterday he was all over the
map, but came out beside Clinton. It's also important to note that he couldn't meet the standard he set for Clinton during the debate to actually answer yes or no. That's because this issue is more complex, as Edwards found out yesterday.
Mr. Stephanopoulos: “Do you believe illegal immigrants should be denied
driver's licenses?”Mr. Edwards: “Well, I think, first of all, that's for states
to decide, not for the President of the United States to decide. But beyond
that -”Mr. Stephanopoulos: “So the 40 states that deny illegal immigrants
driver's licenses that's okay with you?”Mr. Edwards: “Let me finish. I think that is their decision to make,
not the president's decision. But here's what I believe. I believe
that, first of all, we have to have comprehensive immigration reform. And
for anybody in this country who is making an effort and on the path to obtaining
American citizenship, yes, they should have a driver's license. If they're
not making any effort to become an American citizen, and we have a system
for doing that, my own personal view is, no, I would not give them a driver's
license.”In further back and forth to clarify, Mr. Stephanopoulos noted that Mr. Edwards,
when he first ran for president in 2004, unequivocally supported giving licenses
to illegal immigrants. Then the moderator played a video of Mrs. Clinton's
debate response – in which she said the controversy underscores the
need for comprehensive federal immigration reforms – and Mr. Stephanopoulos
suggested her stance sounded like Mr. Edwards' position now: “You're
saying the same thing, right?”Mr. Edwards: “That's true.” … ..
Oh, and if you think this is classic, when Stephanopoulos asked Edwards about
his Bubba strategy the double speak was on full parade. He believes that if
you won't vote for a woman or a black for president he doesn't want your vote.
However, only he can win in “tough places,” especially in white rural
America where they won't vote for a woman or black man for president. Never
mind that Edwards trails badly in both South and North Carolina. But he's more
electable, got that?
Note to all Democrats running for president: If you're going to run an attack campaign against a fellow Democrat it would help if you actually held different views, and when demanding yes
or no answers from them could actually deliver them yourself, while not campaigning
in the same manner as you're charging your Democratic opponents. Eriposte has more, hitting the same reality as it relates to Iraq and Iran, with the top three candidates sounding an awful lot alike, something I've been covering around here as well.
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